Git for Everyone: Git GUI Apps — You Don't Have to Use the Terminal
Series: Git for Everyone · Part 6 of 6 — Git GUI Apps: You Don't Have to Use the Terminal
🕐 ~6 min read · Beginner friendly
📝 A note on this article · This post is based on my personal study notes on version control and Git collaboration. To make these notes more readable and useful — for myself and for others — I worked with AI to help expand and structure them into a proper blog format. The ideas, learning journey, and understanding are mine; the AI helped with the writing and presentation.
The Terminal Is Optional
Everything we've covered so far uses the command line. And honestly, knowing those commands makes you a stronger developer — you understand what is actually happening.
But here's the truth: you don't have to type commands every single day.
There's a whole ecosystem of GUI (Graphical User Interface) apps that let you do everything — commit, branch, merge, stash, push, pull — by clicking buttons and seeing a visual map of your repository.
These tools are especially helpful when:
- You want to see the branch history visually
- You're reviewing what files changed and how
- You need to handle a merge conflict with a side-by-side editor
- You're new to Git and the terminal feels overwhelming
Let's look at the most popular ones.
GitHub Desktop
Best for: Beginners, GitHub users, simplicity
GitHub Desktop is made by GitHub itself. It's free, clean, and intentionally simple — it doesn't try to expose every Git feature, just the ones you need most of the time.
What you can do:
- Clone, create, and manage repositories
- Stage files and write commit messages visually
- Create and switch branches with one click
- Push and pull to GitHub
- View diffs (what changed in each file)
- Open PRs directly from the app
What it doesn't do:
- Advanced operations like interactive rebase or cherry-pick aren't available in the UI
- Works best with GitHub (less seamless with GitLab or Bitbucket)
Great if: You're just getting started, or you primarily use GitHub and want the fastest path from code to commit to PR.
Platform: macOS, Windows (Linux not officially supported)
Price: Free
GitLens — Supercharged Git Inside VS Code
Best for: Developers who live in VS Code (or any VS Code-based editor)
GitLens is not a standalone app — it's a VS Code extension (and it works on Cursor and Windsurf (Devin Desktop) too, since they're VS Code-based). It transforms your editor into a full-featured Git interface.
What makes GitLens special:
- Inline blame — hover over any line of code and instantly see who wrote it, when, and in which commit
- File history — see every commit that touched a specific file
- Visual commit graph — a beautiful timeline of your entire branch history
- Diff view — compare any two commits side by side
- Stash management — apply, pop, and browse stashes visually
- Interactive rebase editor — reorder, squash, or edit commits without memorizing commands
GitLens is already installed in many VS Code setups. You might already have it without realizing it.
The free tier is very generous. The paid plan (GitLens+) adds more advanced visualizations, but you won't miss them as a beginner.
Great if: You already spend most of your day in VS Code, Cursor, or Windsurf — GitLens brings Git right into your existing workflow without switching windows.
Platform: VS Code extension (works on all OS)
Price: Free (with paid tier for advanced features)
GitKraken
Best for: Power users, teams, visual thinkers
GitKraken is one of the most visually impressive Git clients available. Its signature feature is a central commit graph — a beautifully rendered timeline of all branches, merges, and commits, letting you understand your repo's history at a glance.
What you can do:
- Everything in GitHub Desktop, plus much more
- Drag-and-drop merging and rebasing
- Built-in merge conflict editor with a 3-panel view (theirs / base / yours)
- Interactive rebase with a visual editor
- Manage multiple repositories in one window
- Integrate with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps
- Built-in code review tools (in paid plan)
What to know:
- The free plan has limitations for private repositories (requires a paid plan for full access)
- It's more feature-rich, which also means a steeper learning curve than GitHub Desktop
Great if: You're comfortable with Git concepts and want maximum visibility and control — especially useful on complex projects with many branches.
Platform: macOS, Windows, Linux
Price: Free (limited) / Paid plans available
Fork
Best for: Mac and Windows users who want speed and simplicity with power
Fork is a Git client that hits a great balance: it's more powerful than GitHub Desktop but faster and less overwhelming than GitKraken. Developers who use it tend to love it.
What you can do:
- Visual commit history and branch graph
- Fast and responsive diff viewer
- Stash, cherry-pick, rebase — all with a UI
- Interactive rebase editor
- Built-in merge conflict resolver
- Repository manager for multiple projects
What to know:
- Not open source, but the free trial is indefinite (similar to how WinRAR works — it asks you to buy, but keeps working)
Great if: You want a fast, clean, no-nonsense Git client that handles advanced features without getting in the way.
Platform: macOS, Windows
Price: Free trial (one-time license ~$50 to "buy")
Sourcetree
Best for: Atlassian/Bitbucket users, free power users
Sourcetree is made by Atlassian — the same company behind Bitbucket, Jira, and Confluence. It's completely free and more feature-rich than GitHub Desktop.
What you can do:
- Full visual branch and commit history
- Commit, push, pull, merge, rebase via UI
- Stash management
- Interactive rebase
- Cherry-pick and patch handling
- Connects to GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket
What to know:
- Works best when paired with Bitbucket (Atlassian's ecosystem)
- The UI feels a bit older compared to GitKraken or Fork
- Requires an Atlassian account to sign in
Great if: You're already in the Atlassian ecosystem (Bitbucket, Jira) or just want a free, capable tool without any paywalls.
Platform: macOS, Windows (no Linux)
Price: Free
Quick Comparison
| App | Platform | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Desktop | Mac, Windows | Free | Beginners, GitHub users |
| GitLens | VS Code extension | Free / Paid | Devs living in VS Code |
| GitKraken | Mac, Win, Linux | Free (limited) / Paid | Visual power users |
| Fork | Mac, Windows | Free trial / ~$50 | Speed + power balance |
| Sourcetree | Mac, Windows | Free | Atlassian/Bitbucket users |
Do You Still Need to Know the Terminal?
Yes — at least the basics. Here's why:
- GUI apps sometimes hide what's actually happening. When something goes wrong, understanding the underlying command helps you debug it.
- Servers and CI/CD pipelines don't have GUIs. If you ever SSH into a server or write a deployment script, you'll need the command line.
- Some advanced operations (like editing a rebase interactively or cherry-picking a specific range) are cleaner on the terminal even if the GUI supports them.
Think of GUI apps as a productivity layer on top of your Git knowledge — not a replacement for it.
The ideal workflow: Learn the commands first (even roughly), then use a GUI app day-to-day. You'll appreciate what the GUI is doing for you — and you'll know what to type when the GUI isn't around.
Wrapping Up the Series
That's a wrap on Git for Everyone! Here's everything we covered:
| Part | Topic |
|---|---|
| Part 1 | What is Git, Repository, and Commit |
| Part 2 | Traveling Through Time — Checkout, Reset, and Revert |
| Part 3 | Branches, Stash, and Git Workflow |
| Part 4 | Merge, Pull Requests, and Code Reviews |
| Part 5 | Fork, Clone, and Open Source Collaboration |
| Part 6 | Git GUI Apps — You Don't Have to Use the Terminal |
Git can feel overwhelming at first — but the core ideas are simple. Save your work. Work in parallel safely. Collaborate without stepping on each other. And never lose history.
The more you use it, the more natural it becomes. One commit at a time.
📌 Series overview:
- Part 1: What Is Git, Repository, and Commit
- Part 2: Traveling Through Time — Checkout, Reset, and Revert
- Part 3: Branches, Stash, and Git Workflow
- Part 4: Merge, Pull Requests, and Code Reviews
- Part 5: Fork, Clone, and Open Source Collaboration
- Part 6: Git GUI Apps — You Don't Have to Use the Terminal ← you are here